Young, wild & X-Treme – Amada

She’s sexy, she’s crazy, she absolutely loves and lives hardcore and she’s on the perfect way to be one of the most recognizable female DJs within the scene. We caught up with hardcore DJ and producer Amada, to talk about her career as a female DJ and producer, the hardcore scene, the evolution of styles and her haircolors!

Hi Amada! First of all let me ask, how are you and how was your year so far?
I’m great thanks! I just got home from a crazy-ass week at Ibiza Goes Hard and a Defqon.1 weekend before that! Festival season wickedness! Rest of my year was good!

You are in the scene for a while now but still many people don’t know you. Can you give us a little intro about yourself?
Well, I’m Amada 😉 haha, I’m a Hardcore lover since my 12th and I play since 2010 🙂

Let’s go back to the start. When did you come in touch with the harder styles of dance music? Did you directly fell in love with hardcore music? We did hear something about attending at a party at high-school?
Haha yes, as I mentioned in the question above, my classmates introduced me in this music I didn’t know, and which was ‘badass’ and underground. I loved it immediately!! Angerfist, Korsakoff, and of course Promo with his famous files! If I hear those tracks now I just fly to another dimension with my head wile I’m dancing! Pure love.

When I discovered Nosferatu with his Drunk with a Gun and The Desolate One, I was sold forever. This is what I am and what I will be forever!

Credits: Gerard Henninger Photography – https://www.facebook.com/GerardHenningerPhotography

You seem to be a real dedicated fan as well. We often spot you on instagram going to a party, or your crazy (but funny) selfies you took at events. Did you party a lot before you started your DJ career?
Partying was all I did! I remember that I could not wait till the moment that I was old enough to attend a Hardcore party. I was 15 when I went the first time (this year 10 years ago actually) first some small parties in Limburg like Overdosed, and then the epic Hellraiser vs Megarave at the Beursgebouw in Eindhoven! I literally danced until I dropped. I fainted that party because I could not stop dancing because I loved it so much haha! And no, I was NOT on drugs.

Since then I partied my ass off. Every weekend, sometimes 2 times a weekend or maybe 3 parties if I could haha!

Which DJ did inspire you at that time to start mixing and producing?
Well I never thought of being a DJ, because I enjoyed te dancefloor already so much. One of my best friends X-treme dared for a bet to come and play at our cafe-parties, and since then the gigs kept coming. I liked it to get free entrance for me and my friends haha, but it took me a while to accept that people saw me as an artist. I could not see myself in that way. But besides that I did my best overtime people booked me. Because I wanted to prove that I stood there because I could play, not because I was a girl. (which wasn’t so normal as now back then)

These days, as a DJ, you also need to make tracks to stay in the spotlight and show your own style. What do you think about that? Do you like to produce tracks, or is DJ’ing the favourite part?
I love to play! but since Nosferatu (as you can read above, my all-time hero) reached his helping hand to me, and is willing to teach me the other side of being a Hardcore-artist I love to learn how to produce as well!

When I play I like to tell the people a story, about my vision of hardcore. That’s exactly what I want with producing too.

About producing, Where do you get your inspiration from?
From all my heroes and tracks that touch me, from the past and now. Tracks with a energetic and good drive that make you want to dance!

How do you describe your own style in all these musical violence?
Energetic! Passionate. Hardcore!

You often play together with Kasparov, as Kasmada, how did you guys meet? It looks like a perfect match in music right?
Haha, well we met years ago I guess. It was at his birthdayparty, because Nosferatu invited me. We connected right away haha! We’re similar retarded fucks who both love a good party and some good Hardcore. Playing with Bas is like playing with my Hardcore brother, haha!

Hardcore is gaining popularity these days, even Hardwell was playing hardcore at Pussy Lounge at the Park. What do you think about that?
Awesome haha, I know that PL at the Park is in his ‘backyard’, so Hardwell comes over every year. I’d like to quote Endymion on this one: ‘Music never separated people, It’s all music!’

Besides that I DO notice that people are not as dedicated to the bone as I was from the start.. It has become a popularity thing or something.. but hey, who cares? As long as the scene is alive and kicking and we all have love for the core 😉

Talking about sub-genres in the hardcore scene. We think the sub-genres merge more often. DJ’s are inspiring, and collaborating with artists from other scenes, for instance; Destructive Tendencies recently collaborated with Warface, do you think this is a good thing? Or does hardcore loose its own DNA?
Well in my opinion RAW hardstyle IS Hardcore :P. Sorry if I insult anybody, but that’s how I see it from the day it has been introduced. Hardcore became only faster and people nowadays are hard headed in accepting the fact that there is NO bpm attached to Hardcore, the opposite of how I got into this scene with lots of slow, underground tracks. If you take a look at the Promo Files for example, lot’s of them aren’t even 155 bpm (the Hardstyle number) but like 150 or some even 149.. And believe me, that IS fucking Hardcore.

The Sub genres weren’t that out spoken as I remember. It was all Hardcore. People hold on too much on a sub-genre I think.. I love that there are people who think outside the box, because the barriers are getting too high sometimes.

Thanks for you honest answer! We 100% agree on that! Besides listening to hardcore, do you listen to other music as well?
Haha, yes I do. Lot’s of DJ’s don’t listen to Hardcore at all in their own time. I listen to Hardcore ALL FUCKING DAY. Hahaha. But I also LOVE 90’s, R&B, Hiphop, Top40, Rock, well just everything that you can party on! Rowwen Heze, I don’t give a shit I love it all! And when I say Hardcore I mean all the sub-genres with it.

What was the greatest event of your career so far?
Dayumn, that’s a difficult one. I think closing the Decibel Kick-off party with AniMe and Miss K8. The crowd of 20.000 people going crazy for 1,5 hour non stop was just CRAZY!

Anywhere you would like to play sometime?
Australia! Defqon.1 over there would be crazy! But my ultimate stage is the MOH/Dominator mainstage, of course. I can only dream of that.

Let’s ask some personal questions. You did dye your hair in all kinds of colours, which was your favourite so far, haha? We like the blue/green hair you have at the moment :D!
Haha! I always thought I would be a redhead forever, because it was SO my colour. But you are right, I’m in love with my turquoise hair right now and this will last for a long time I guess 😀

Credits: Gerard Henninger Photography – https://www.facebook.com/GerardHenningerPhotography

You also seem to love tattoos as well, do you make them by yourself? Like Day-Mar does for instance?
I’d WISH! I envy her for that haha, she knows that too. Becoming a tattoo artist is my personal dream. DJ-ing never was, even though it has become my greatest passion. I am an artist with drawing and painting all my life and I love to be able to ink some skin!

Final question; Is there anything you would like to share with us, something exclusive for your fans?
Pfoee.. that’s difficult! I can only say thank you for all the support and the believing in me! And; KEEP IT HARDCORE! And Big Kiss x 😉